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Iroquois board holds required budget hearing; voters to decide proposed budget next week
Summary
Business administrator John Lewinsky presented the Iroquois Central School District’s annual budget at a legally required hearing, outlining a proposed levy increase and two voter propositions; the board did not take a vote at the hearing, and the district encouraged residents to vote at next week’s budget election.
The Iroquois Central School District held its required annual budget hearing, where Business Administrator John Lewinsky presented the proposed 2025-26 budget and related propositions and answered board questions about tax and state-aid developments. The budget vote was announced for next week at the district’s intermediate building gymnasium during stated polling hours.
The hearing matters because it is the final public presentation before voters decide whether to adopt the district’s spending plan and levy. Lewinsky said the district is balancing revenue and expenses while watching changes in state aid and mandated costs.
John Lewinsky, the district’s business administrator, told the board, “We’re required, all school districts are required to do a budget hearing between 7 and 14 days before the budget vote occurs.” He said the district’s tax-cap calculation yields a 3.34% allowable levy increase under the current formula and that that percentage represents “the allowable tax increase with a simple majority 50% vote.” Lewinsky cautioned that equalization rates from the six towns in the district could change the actual bill for individual taxpayers and that such numbers often shift after the hearing.
Lewinsky said recent state information released the prior week includes several items that do not alter the district’s spending plan for this ballot but could affect future budgets. He described the district’s revenue and expense alignment: an overall 2.59% increase in the operating budget and an intent to protect instructional programs while responding to the end of some COVID and federal funds. He also confirmed a capital outlay line item (a typical $100,000 capital outlay project) intended to address maintenance and repairs at the transportation facility in summer 2026.
On the ballot, Lewinsky said Proposition 1 is the district’s general fund budget (presented in the hearing as a total of “dollars 60,000,000” in the presentation). He also described Proposition 2 as a vehicle-replacement proposition to fund a scheduled replacement of district vehicles and buses and listed three vehicles (three full-size buses, a 30-passenger cutaway and a wheelchair-equipped lift bus). In the presentation Lewinsky stated the vehicle proposition had a “not to exceed” amount in the slide as “Not to exceed $7.63”; the stated figure in the presentation was unclear in the hearing record and is marked below under clarifying details as not specified/unclear.
Superintendent Doug encouraged community participation in the vote, saying, “I would love to see every single person in the district come out and vote.” The board held no proposition vote at the hearing; the hearing satisfied the statutory requirement and the public vote will occur at the scheduled polling location and times announced by the district.
Less-critical details: Lewinsky described voter logistics and directed residents to the district website for the full set of budget presentations and supporting materials. He also noted a board seat (held by Jane Sullivan) was on the ballot and that five candidates will appear for that seat, with the simple-majority winner to be declared.
